The Cooldown: Week 6
Week six should be the week of explosive performances. Every game I’m going to cover in this weeks’ blog was either a shootout or a high-scoring blowout. As playoff pictures start to come just a little bit into focus, let’s hit on contenders in 6A and 5A and discuss some intriguing teams that could make some noise come playoff time.
Fulshear races past Angleton
Let’s admit right off the top, Angleton has not had the best year. That’s tough to say about a proud, storied program that has had recent success, but this is not the Wildcats’ best team… especially on offense. Nevertheless, Fulshear showed in this game why it should be taken seriously come playoff time, and why it maybe could make a run at a state title – perhaps akin to 2020 Crosby? – as well.
Fulshear – up to No. 5 in the state in 5A-I this week – does its damage exclusively on the ground. The Chargers finished with just 46 yards through the air, and one of quarterback Deuce Barrington’s five attempts was picked off. Good thing Fulshear has Patrick Broadway and Davion Godley.
Broadway maximized his 14 carries by scoring two touchdowns and going for 127 yards. Godley carried the ball 16 times for 190 yards while Zane Smith added 10 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns.
So when I say Fulshear could make a deep playoff run, I mean that a little more literally than with other teams. Jokes aside, the Chargers have impressed this season. If we’re talking about the state championship picture, Fulshear will potentially have to go through No. 4 Port Arthur Memorial, No. 6 Smithson Valley and No. 8 PSJA North. Those are the only current top-10 teams on the right side of the bracket.
Jordan nearly stuns Katy
Fortunately for Katy, the word “nearly” in football really means “nothing” so while Jordan put a serious scare into the Tigers, the result in the win column for Katy is the same as if the Tigers had won by 40. Katy rallied from an early deficit for a 42-35 in what was one of the better games we’ve seen this year.
Katy got the job done by playing a balanced game. The running game was strong as it usually is, with lead back Tremayne Hill running for 201 yards. Quarterback Gunner Nelson navigated the Tigers through the red zone multiple times, hitting on a few intermediate touchdown passes. Nelson finished 9-of-14 passing for 138 yards and four touchdowns.
Jordan nearly upset Katy, but turnovers proved costly. Colin Willetts had an explosive night, going 14-of-26 passing for 336 yards and a touchdown, but also had two INT’s, including a pick-six. Running back Chad Gasper handled the bulk of the scoring with three touchdowns; 95 yards on 17 carries.
I am not even going to attempt to find the enrollment numbers for every Katy ISD school (much less try to figure out which other two Katy ISD schools are going to make the playoffs in 19-6A) but I think Jordan has a chance to win a few playoff games no matter what bracket it goes to. That’s an impressive feat for a school so young; the Warriors are the clear-cut second best school in 19-6A this year.
As for Katy, they’ve taken care of business against some good teams and have the one loss to an elite Atascocita squad on the ledger. That game was so close that it could figuratively go the other way in the playoffs if it comes to that. Katy occasionally gets bumped down to the 6A-II bracket, which could mean another deep playoff run.
North Shore races past C.E. King
Now if you want to talk about a team that will undoubtedly make a deep playoff run, and likely a state championship appearance, look no further than North Shore.
The Mustangs are head-and-shoulders above teams that are state ranked. It will take a team likely in the top five of the start to topple the Mustangs. Anyways. North Shore absolutely thrashed C.E. King, 42-6. That’s a good team; North Shore did that like it was nothing! Not that North Shore’s performance is the least bit surprising, but still.
Kaleb Bailey’s Twitter (or X, I personally refuse to call it that) tag is @unexpectedkb9. That makes no sense to me because everything he does on the field is expected. Bailey tallied 219 yards and three scores on an efficient 16-of-20 passing. Chris Barnes was his favorite target, with 135 yards and two of his touchdown passes, while D’Andre Hardeman racked up 99 yards on the ground.
North Shore should breeze through the rest of district play, save for a titanic October 27 showdown with No. 7 Atascocita. C.E. King will still be a playoff team and could win a few playoff games depending on the road.
News and Notes
In this section each week, I’ll hit on some of the scores that caught my eye, but didn’t have time to discuss in full detail like the games above.
- Dawson, 28 – Alief Taylor, 24
- Oak Ridge, 48 – Conroe, 21
- Cy Woods, 23 – Cy Lakes, 16
- Clear Falls, 22 – Clear Springs, 14
- Clear Creek, 24 – Clear lake, 21
- Klein Cain, 52 – Klein, 38
- Tomball, 35 – Klein Oak, 14
- Magnolia, 33 – Friendswood, 22
- Waltrip, 47 – Wisdom, 0
- Randle, 52 – Brenham, 28
- Lake Creek, 36 – Montgomery, 35
- Iowa Colony, 38 – Stafford, 31
Player of the Week
A good indicator that a player should win player-of-the-week is if he had a standout performance while helping his school do something that’s never been done in school history. That happened last week at Cy Springs.
My player-of-the-week is Cy Springs running back Tim Saunders! He ran 30 times for 165 yards and three touchdowns as the Panthers took down Cy Ranch 35-31 in a game that was back-and-forth all night. Cy Ranch is one of the toughest teams on the schedule for the Panthers, who are 5-0 for the first time in school history. Up next is 2-3 Cy lakes, followed by 2-3 Langham Creek. Cy Springs could be 7-0 before a tough end to the season against Cy Falls, Cy Woods and Bridgeland, who are a combined 10-5 so far.
What to look forward to
Here are the games I’m most looking forward to this week. Games on Thursday or Saturday are noted.
- Cy Falls at Bridgeland (TH)
- Summer Creek at North Shore (TH)
- Klein at Klein Oak (TH)
- Foster at Kempner (TH)
- Dickinson at Clear Falls
- Jordan at Cinco Ranch
- Klein Collins at Tomball Memorial
- Terry at Angleton
- Fulshear at Friendswood
- Waltrip at Madison
- Magnolia at Magnolia West
- El Campo at Bay City
- Brazosport at Iowa Colony
- Travis at Clements (SAT)
- Furr at Yates (SAT)